KBIS Insurance Renewal... OMG!!!!!

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Christmas Crumpet

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Horse is insured for £1k with KBIS under their Bronze cover. The cost of the premium last year was £431.07. I put in a claim for his hocks to be done which cost £550 but they refused as its a pre-existing condition apparently.

The renewal has come back for £806.97!!!!!!! For a £1k horse. WTF?!!!!!!!!

Absolutely unbelievable. Lady said its because the underwriters have taken such a hit with people putting in claims last year. That is utter daylight robbery. He has been insured with them for 2 years and they've not paid me a penny.
 
carolineb said:
Horse is insured for £1k with KBIS under their Bronze cover. The cost of the premium last year was £431.07. I put in a claim for his hocks to be done which cost £550 but they refused as its a pre-existing condition apparently.

The renewal has come back for £806.97!!!!!!! For a £1k horse. WTF?!!!!!!!!

Absolutely unbelievable. Lady said its because the underwriters have taken such a hit with people putting in claims last year. That is utter daylight robbery. He has been insured with them for 2 years and they've not paid me a penny.
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Im sorry that is a very truthful answer, Vets fees cover to my mind have always been cheap and the industry is just moving to cover those that insure low for the same vets cover it cant be done.
Insurance is not a savings account were you expect to get back what you put in or a premium bond when you hit the jackpot and get 5k worth of work for one years premium. Many insurers would rather not offer the cover full stop but feel they have to.
 
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carolineb said:
Horse is insured for £1k with KBIS under their Bronze cover. The cost of the premium last year was £431.07. I put in a claim for his hocks to be done which cost £550 but they refused as its a pre-existing condition apparently.

The renewal has come back for £806.97!!!!!!! For a £1k horse. WTF?!!!!!!!!

Absolutely unbelievable. Lady said its because the underwriters have taken such a hit with people putting in claims last year. That is utter daylight robbery. He has been insured with them for 2 years and they've not paid me a penny.
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But surely the value of the horse has nothing to do with it. It is the potential payout for vet fees etc the company is liable for if you claim. The cost of treatment is the same if the horse is worth £1,000 or £10,000.
I guess you need to make a decision if it is worth paying the premium against the risk of paying vet fees yourself if treatment is needed.
 
carolineb said:
He only had his hocks jabbed and the lady I spoke to said that it would have had no bearing on the premium rise as they didn't pay out. His hocks have been excluded from his policy.
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The lady you spoke is wrong - with any health based insurance previous history is always relevant to the premium, whether excluded or not.
 
I have two non-ridden horses neither of which is insured (3rd party liability is covered) - I self insure both in the main as both have had issues, investigations etc that mean that any policy would be carved up so much as to be almost worthless. Newbie - ridden horse, not cheap (well schooled with decent BD record), no historical issues and passed 5 stage vetting with flying colours - premium with KBIS was approx 1500 (incl loss of use but not the highest vet fee cover). She is insured but not with this cover or insurer (I focussed on vet cover and accepted a sizeable excess). On renewal I will be tempted if it gets more expensive to self insure her too.
 
Batgirl said:
The lady you spoke is wrong - with any health based insurance previous history is always relevant to the premium, whether excluded or not.
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This would make sense.. Hock issues could cause overcompensation elsewhere in the horses body, causing more vets bills for resultant injuries. Or other things like that.. I have never thought about it like that before.
 
Ceriann said:
I have two non-ridden horses neither of which is insured (3rd party liability is covered) - I self insure both in the main as both have had issues, investigations etc that mean that any policy would be carved up so much as to be almost worthless. Newbie - ridden horse, not cheap (well schooled with decent BD record), no historical issues and passed 5 stage vetting with flying colours - premium with KBIS was approx 1500 (incl loss of use but not the highest vet fee cover). She is insured but not with this cover or insurer (I focussed on vet cover and accepted a sizeable excess). On renewal I will be tempted if it gets more expensive to self insure her too.
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I am also considering whether to knock the vets fees insurance on the head when my renewal is up in October as mine has just gone up 30% this year. Same for both my dogs too. I save a little pot of money each month and I am fortunate that I could borrow some money from family if I was hit with a big bill.
 
One of mine once his ulcer claim is done will not be insured for vet fews as for £51 a month im pretty sure the only part of his body that is still insured is his ears.
Will just do public liabilty.

The other one will stay insured for vets fees untill he is too old for major treatment.

Yea its going up everything is but one year they paid out three different claims totaling around £15,000 for my sisters horse and there was no way shr could have done that her self. So actually i would prefer to keep mine insured as long as its in their best interest.
 
carolineb said:
That's slightly concerning given she works for KBIS!!
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Doesn't surprise me with KBiS - they were spectacularly unhelpful when I tried to make a claim & did everything they could to avoid paying out. I cancelled my policy mid-year and moved elsewhere, it's a pity their people let them down with appalling customer service and communication
 
Honestly self insuring is a much more viable option. I have third party cover via my BHS gold membership (about £90 p.a.) and a credit card with a £10,000 limit which sits in the safe until I need it. I have instant pay out no exclusions medical cover on my 24 year old horse for no premium and as I haven't made a claim against myself for years it's cost me nothing.
 
I have just had my renewal through for my horse that has not had anything wrong with her. mine too has gone up. i spoke to NFU and reduced my monthly bill and increased her value and lowered my premium so sadly I have moved from KBIS. My horse was only valued at perviously at £500 and her premieum was over £600, she is now valued at £3K (she was a feral horse before now a lovely all rounder hence the value changing)
 
pansymouse said:
Honestly self insuring is a much more viable option. I have third party cover via my BHS gold membership (about £90 p.a.) and a credit card with a £10,000 limit which sits in the safe until I need it. I have instant pay out no exclusions medical cover on my 24 year old horse for no premium and as I haven't made a claim against myself for years it's cost me nothing.
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You have inspired me to self insure even more now PM.
 
KrujaaLass said:
Leo . Who is that with
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horseinsurance.co.uk and yes I know who they are underwritten by :lol: I went with them as his previous owners had him unsured with them so I wanted that continuation of cover as I didnt have him vetted. I paid about the same with animal friends for the previous horse. Both are only insured for £500 which decreases premiums as well.
 
carolineb said:
Horse is insured for £1k with KBIS under their Bronze cover. The cost of the premium last year was £431.07. I put in a claim for his hocks to be done which cost £550 but they refused as its a pre-existing condition apparently.

The renewal has come back for £806.97!!!!!!! For a £1k horse. WTF?!!!!!!!!

Absolutely unbelievable. Lady said its because the underwriters have taken such a hit with people putting in claims last year. That is utter daylight robbery. He has been insured with them for 2 years and they've not paid me a penny.
Click to expand...

That's more than my renewal with them - and they paid out for hock investigations on mine (now also excluded). My mare is only 7 though and I think she's only insured for around £650 so perhaps that's the difference.
 
I've just changed after my renewal for seib came through at £550 and had gone up significantly. I've just taken out an identical policy with Nfu, with a lower excess for £350....go figure !! It's worth shopping around, I always classed Nfu as expensive and they have been in other quotes but not for this one. I have lots of insurance of varying types with Nfu and they have always been pleasant to deal with and good at paying out promptly
 
For this horse I would think putting the premium into a savings account would be a better use of the money assuming you've got BHS gold membership or similar.

You win some you lose some on insurance policies. Mostly you lose but when you do "win" it does feel rather worth it after all!
 
Despite having had a few huge claims in previous years I now self insure.
My lad had that many exclusions that the £800 a year premium (KBIS, most of the horse excluded any way, no LOU and value £1500, £500 excess) for a horse only worth a small amount is stupid. I wouldnt put him through anything majorly invasive anyway.

He had a chest infection in April this year. Cost £600 to sort out. I'm still £600 in the positive just on one year (£800 premium plus £500 excess, no 3rd party as I have that through BHS) even with a potentially claimable problem.
 
I have knocked the insurance the head now, I have a credit card with £8500 limit and BHS gold membership which is £60'ish a year.

Petplan have paid out this year but quite frankly I feel like a lot of treatment was done purely because it was being paid for by the insurance.
My old girl was insured with NFU for 18yrs, as soon sash was 18 the premium went through the roof and I changed to Petplan, when she was 21 they put her on a rubbish veteran policy and it was money for nothing so I declined their offer and just pay up, I shall now be doing that for the younger one too.
 
I'm another who no longer insures, I have public libability via the new Harry Hall One club, put money to one side and have a credit card for real emergencies.
 
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